The entertainment industry can be as much of a family business as a high-flying trapeze act.
While well-known dynasties like the Fondas and the Judds have made no secret about their
lineage, other famous family members tend to keep their relationships more private.
Here are some celebrities you probably never knew were related.
Rob Schneider and Elle King
Singer/songwriter Elle King is daughter to SNL alum Rob Schneider and model London King.
Their progeny got the best of both worlds — her mother's striking good looks, and
wild-child performance antics that scream "comedian's kid."
She told Billboard,
"Sometimes I'm too loud and sometimes I get too drunk and sometimes I'm not very ladylike,
but I'm myself."
Elle seems to have inherited the confidence and swagger necessary to make it in the entertainment industry.
She probably caught the bug early, since she played "Cookie Girl" in her dad's film, Deuce
Bigalow: Male Gigolo.
"You're gross!
You're a sick man and I'm gonna tell!"
Let's face it, you don't appear in a movie where your father plays a prostitute and then
grow up to become an accountant.
Riley Keough and Elvis Presley
The product of a tangled mess of musical royalty, actress Riley Keough is Lisa Marie Presley's
daughter, making her Elvis "The King" Presley's granddaughter.
And since her mom was once married to Michael Jackson, Keough is also the "King of Pop's"
onetime step-daughter too.
All that musical fame seems to have had little impact on the Mad Max: Fury Road star, who
told Esquire,
"The reality is I know as much about my grandpa as you'd know about a grandpa you never met."
Most grandpas don't have a thousand biographies written about them, though.
Read a book, Riley.
Tom Cruise and William Mapother
You probably know Tom Cruise, whose real name is Thomas Cruise Mapother the Fourth,
from that little Mission Impossible franchise which has grossed more than $1 billion in box office receipts.
Or maybe his wacky Scientology video.
And you may recognize his cousin, William Mapother, as the ultra-creep from the TV movie
Escape from Polygamy or his recurring role as Ethan on Lost, or even as the villainous
Parasite in Supergirl.
Or maybe even as the cameo in his cousin's films Minority Report and Vanilla Sky.
He may not be Tom Cruise, but he's keeping busy.
And honestly, who wants to be Tom Cruise anymore?
Rip Torn and Sissy Spacek
If you put Rip Torn and Sissy Spacek side by side, their faces kinda give away the fact
that they're cousins.
Spacek credits Torn for inspiring her acting career and helping her move to New York City
to pursue it.
He also advised her to keep the first name, which was a family nickname.
According to a 1977 interview with Photoplay Magazine, Torn told her that she shouldn't
change who she was in search of success.
And he should know.
Born Elmore Rual Torn, Jr., Rip went by his own family nickname despite the fact that
it sounds like someone describing a split in the seat of their pants.
Eve Hewson and Bono
Actress Eve Hewson's breakout role as Nurse Lucy Elkins on The Knick features a scene
where she injects cocaine into Dr. John W. Thackery's nether regions during sex... which
is probably not something U2's Bono foresaw when he signed his daughter up for drama camp.
Then again, Eve probably wasn't thrilled when her iTunes forcibly downloaded her dad's album,
so that probably makes them even.
"There's a lot of people who were, you know, uninterested in U2, who are now, you know,
mad at U2.
Which, as far as we're concerned, is an improvement."
Jason Sudeikis and George Wendt
"Afternoon, everybody."
"Norm!"
If George Wendt seems like the kind of guy who'd be cool to have a beer with, it's not
just because he played lovable Norm Peterson in Cheers.
Wendt is a down-to-earth Midwestern guy who had some hilarious advice for his then-aspiring-actor
nephew, Jason Sudeikis, who told Playboy that his uncle advised him to "get on one of the
best sitcoms of all time and then ride it out."
Sudeikis obviously admired and emulated his uncle's spirit, and while he didn't exactly
follow his path, the Horrible Bosses and SNL star seems to be doing just fine.
Jason Patric and Jackie Gleason
He's not known for having the most glowing opinion of Hollywood, and Jason Patric's thoughts
on his famous lineage aren't much better.
When asked about having beloved comic actor Jackie Gleason as a grandfather, Patric told
Vulture,
"I only saw him a handful of times in my life.
He's had as much effect on me as he's had on you.
He has nothing to do with me or my bloodline; I'm not a thoroughbred or purebred dog or something."
Yikes.
Look, everyone gets disappointed getting that $5 bill in the birthday card, but there's
no reason to be a jerk about it, okay?
Bill Bellamy and Shaquille O'Neal
Former MTV veejay Bill Bellamy does stand-up comedy and appeared in Kindergarten Cop 2
alongside Dolph Lundgren.
His cousin, basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal, does literally whatever he wants because his
net worth is a cool $350 million, thanks in part to his sweet and humiliating General
Insurance commercial gig.
"Now let's do the free throws!"
"Oh no..."
*laughter*
When The Press Enterprise asked Bellamy if Shaq was funny, he responded,
"He thinks he's funnier than me.
But, I got the credit."
Yep, and those credits include Kindergarten Cop 2, which included this classic moment of cinema.
"Peanuts?!"
"Ahhhh!"
Jenny McCarthy and Melissa McCarthy
With a fairly common last name, you might not be able to tell that Melissa and Jenny
McCarthy are first cousins.
While Jenny got the jump on Melissa in the entertainment biz, Melissa has definitely
eclipsed her cousin in terms of stardom, becoming one of the world's highest paid actresses.
Melissa is a legit Ghostbuster… and Jenny has recently appeared on International Ghost
Investigators and married a lesser Wahlberg.
So it's no surprise she still lets everyone know that she gave Melissa her start any chance
she gets, telling People,
"When she was starting out, I was fortunate enough to be in a position to get her a job
on a show I was doing, to learn the ropes and get some experience on a TV set in front
of the camera and behind the scenes."
Hopefully, one day Melissa will return the favor.
Lily Allen and Alfie Allen
The Allen siblings do not shy away from controversial subject matter.
Lily has endured her share of public scrutiny over her music and has spoken openly about
her desire for her songs to "provoke thought and conversation."
Her brother, Alfie Allen, plays the loathsome Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones and has not
only bared it all, but also gruesomely lost it in one of the show's most controversial scenes.
They say fortune favors the bold.
Well, that and being born into a showbiz family; their dad is actor Keith Allen.
While the two don't seem to bear any grudges now, Lily made it abundantly, musically clear
in her song, "Alfie," that she and her bro didn't always get along.
"You need to get a job because the bills need to get paid.
Get off your lazy arse, Alfie, please use your brain."
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